Under Secretary of State Marjatta Rasi: Security, the new paradigm of interconnectedness
7 September, 2005
Ladies and gentlemen,
The world has never seemed more free, wealthy and interconnected than it does at the dawn of the twenty-first century, economically, politically and technologically. The past 30 years have seen dramatic improvements in the developing world.
While the development community has attempted to address development challenges with mixed results, new threats to security have emerged which threaten to erode the achievements of the past.
Low life expectancy, social and economic inequality, poverty, reduced government revenue, lack of political freedoms, weak oversight over natural resources, and bad governance - they all contribute to insecurity.
Yet it is a sobering fact that freedom from fear, freedom from want and, in particular, freedom to take action on one’s behalf still remain major challenges for numerous people in the contemporary world.
Furthermore, with increasing globalisation - insecurity has evolved and acquired transnational characteristics. International terrorism is a paramount example of the interconnectedness of the the threats to peace, security and well-being of the world today.
Regional conflicts, bad governance and state failure are generally recognized as factors that may provide breeding ground for recruitment into terrorism. Efforts to resolve conflicts and to promote good governance, as well as to develop state capacity to prevent terrorism, are therefore at the heart of a sustainable long-term strategy to fight terrorism.
Ladies and gentlemen,
Civilian populations have increasingly become the targets of action in
conflict situations. Researchers and media use the term "soft target", which is, in my understanding, somewhat misleading term. This trend, characteristic in particular of internal conflicts, hasn't led to softening but increasing inhumanity of conflicts of our time.
The conflicts often severely affect the situation of women, children, elderly people, refugees and internally displaced persons, among others. For example violence against women and children are many times usual methods of war.
These security threats are directly related to human security issues. Protection of people at the risk is one of the issues that have been extensively tackled in the Helsinki process.
Alarming humanitarian situations in internal conflicts, failed or fragile state situations and terrorism have made the protection of civilians a challenge to the international community. Large-scale violations of rules protecting civilian populations are typical in situations where the state’s judicial system and central institutions are not capable to work. While the existing human rights law is essentially based on state responsibility, responsibility for citizen's security and the protection of human rights become diffuse in failed state situations, and it is not always clear how the responsibility may be enforced. Therefore, the protection of civilians and the enforcement of the rules of international humanitarian law must become of concern to the international community.
Many types of current threat, such as terrorism, proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, failed states and organized crime, are found to be increasingly global and interconnected in nature. From this perspective the Finnish Government highlights that an effective and result-based multilateral cooperation means also the inclusion of human rights policy and rule of law aspects and good governance practices. In this spirit our government has also contributed to the strengthening of the rule of law approach and activities within the framework of the UN. We do also warmly welcome the emerging consensus on the interdependence between security, development and human rights as a part of UN the acquis of the UN reform efforts.
There is an increasing understanding in development discourse of the close relationship between security and development. It is now widely accepted that security is closely interlinked with development and that they are mutually reinforcing. There can be no development without security and no security without development.
Ladies and gentlemen,
In these days the whole world is focused on the United Nations Millennium Review summit with high hopes and expectations.
The summit is a unique opportunity to take decisive steps towards implementing the Millennium Declaration and meeting the MDGs while, at the same time, ensuring a safer and more secure world.
It is of utmost importance that all countries take the responsibility in implementing the commitments made at the Millennium Summit. Both the developing and developed countries should contribute to this process. To continue the reform work we need clear mandates from the Major Event.
A lot of work has been carried out in recent years to integrate security, conflict and development issues. In international development cooperation a totally new approach has been evolving in order to tackle development in the context of conflict resolution, post-conflict reconstruction and peace-building.
Key international organisations have developed guidance for better addressing fragile development situations. Smooth transition from violent conflict - the "continuum" - towards sustainable peace and long-term development is a difficult challenge. How to build institutions, both political and economic, in war-torn societies and how to make these structures last so that development becomes viable. Local ownership is a necessity and dialogue is the key for people's participation.
It is in this context that we are discussing, for instance, the creation of a Peace Building Commission at the UN. The message is that all actors should work together and not compete with each other. It is not only governments, international organisations and donors who are the actors. The role of business and non-governmental organisations is important in combatting insecurity and inhumanity.
Wide concept of human security starts with the notion of prevention. Conflict prevention means understanding the root causes of potential conflicts and violence, especially the socio-economic and institutional causes. Here we are dealing with the basic human security. We should work together to identify and address such problems that decrease human security and well-being of people.
Ladies and gentlemen,
This is where the Helsinki Process could contribute in a substantial way in finding concrete, critical human security concerns and steps forward to overcome them through joint action. There is no uniform reply. Let us hope that we can offer a diversity of approaches and solutions in the deliberations this week.
Thank you for attention.
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